For an interesting perspective on the history of
man's fear of bears, read this.

I grew up terrified of bears. I no longer feel that way as I have learned
that bears do not want to hurt humans. I have come a long way in determining
what is real for me to be afraid of and what comes from the mythology.

I still feel fear at times. For example, when I think about encountering
a grizzly bear unexpectedly that I have not met before, I feel fear. The
thought of this kind of encounter causes me more fear in the Rocky Mountains
of Alberta than it does here at Kambalnoe Lake. I think our bears in North
America have, for the most part, encountered humans more than one time
in their life and the experience has not always been pleasant. They may
have been shot at - who knows. I realize now that bears have incredible
memories and perhaps those bears who have had negative experiences with
man, carry a real grudge for humans and are potentially dangerous. I know
not to run away: bears love to chase something out of their territory.
I know to stand my ground in a relaxed way, get out my Counter Assault
bear spray from my hip holster, and talk to the animal in a reassuring
way.

Charlie continues to test my reflexes, for these kinds of encounters,
by once or twice a year hiding in a dense pine bush and growling at me
as I walk by. This little game is terrifying for me, but it has trained
me not to panic and to assess the situation. The first week we were here
this year, we ran into a mother and a 3-year-old cub about a 100 yards
up a snowdrift from us. I was photographing the pair when she took a run
at us. I could see that she had established limits for any critter in
her vicinity - she may have been coming into estrous or had been harassed
by the predatory male that we knew to be in Kambalnoe Lake region this
spring. I didn't know for sure, but she didn't look rally "pissed off",
just the look of "move off!". I felt alert (not afraid) and got out my
bear spray while Charlie talked to her, saying we were OK and were on
our way anyway. She slid to a stop (I have a picture of it[Sadly,
not a digital picture. It's on film])! This is the only
time any bear has run at us in the 4 seasons we have been here.

The mother of the Cocktail family is very apprehensive about other bears
approaching her this year. One of her cubs was killed this spring. In
the photo you will see the intent look on her face as she spots our cubs
across the meadow. She ran at our cubs just enough to move them away shortly
after this picture was taken.

I feel a degree of fear when I imagine that the predatory bear that
has been in here may have developed such a taste for fresh meat that I
may become a target. In this case I think my imagination is getting the
best of me. I have read that the odd bear that becomes a cattle killer
doesn't turn on humans for the next carnivore's snack. Therefore I reason,
why should a bear that likes eating other bears turn on me? I rationalize
that I am likely as OK as I was in other years but that I should stay
very alert, which I am doing.

I am certain we have done nothing with our camp etiquette to encourage
human predation such as leaving any access to human food or feces. The
solar powered electric fence around our camp continues to keep bears out
of our compost, we wash all cans so no food smell is wafting from our
garbage bags that are stacked up for the next helicopter trip out. Our
minimal electric fencing experiment around the toilet continues to keep
bears out of it. We heard a loud woof in the middle of the night a week
ago as a bear tried to approach the toilet, pulled out the wire and obviously
received a shock. See picture, taken early one morning, titled, "Trip
to the biffy". I am stepping over an electric wire only 6" off the ground.
We are experimenting with the minimum amount of wire that is necessary
to string around a camp. I still imagine with a bit of grin what it would
be like to sit there with a bear looking over that six inches of electric
wire.

I trust grizzly bears that I have been around and studied their behavior
over an extended period of time. I trust our cubs. In the drawing titled,
"Trust", I am sitting a few feet from Biscuit. She obviously trusts me
as much as I trust her to sleep so peacefully with me so close to her.
I do not believe she will ever become aggressive towards me, as she clearly
likes me. I am careful not to startle her unexpectedly, though, as this
would scare her. She has stood on her hind legs in front of me to see
if I will play. I am more startled than afraid and she notices that. She
seems to be taking great care now to not startle me, as I believe her
to be as interested in our friendship as I am.

Do these bears know our voice? This little episode blew my mind! Talk
about sensitivity with these animals: Charlie was high on the bluff above
Bearskull Bay near Chico while she was asleep in a bear bed. He called
camp on the radiophone. He told me that when I spoke, Chico woke up. As
I continued talking, she stood up, looked down the cliff wall and along
the bay to see where I was. She then looked at Charlie with quite a puzzled
look on her face.